Introduction to our center

We thank God for his abundant blessings in the first quarter. It has been a busy time at Hope centre as we rescue and support children of who have been abused. Painful and agonizing as it is, Day by day girls as young as three years are being abused. Homes, schools, even police camps are not the safe place children once knew! Cases are on the increase and girls are left traumatized and with low self esteem.

There are seventeen girls and two babies at the centre currently. The girls are doing well and happy. The two young mothers and their babies are progressing well though there are arising issues of one mother not willing to continue taking care of the baby. She wants to go back to school and continue with her studies. She has requested to have the baby be taken care of at Ripples International New start and her mother has been called to come and discuss the issue further.

We have two girls who are expecting. One is due on 9th April 2009 and we are trusting God to see her through .She is doing well and there are no medical concerns.

The young Girls attending Classes at Tumaini are okey and their class teacher reports that they are doing well in their studies. The girls in Boarding school are on Holiday .They will be going for holiday tuition on 14th April 2009.

One girl who is in secondary school from Marsabit is also with us for her holidays. She is at great risk of FGM and her mother disowned her after she refused to be circumcised. The poor girl watched her friend bleed to death after the practice was carried on her and she has since been in fear. She relies on bursary to pay her school fees as her mother has totally refused to pay her school fees despite her good performance. She is determined to avoid the practice, do well in school and stand up for girls in her community.

Jean's story

Jean is a thirteen year old girl in class four at Kithoka primary School. She hails from Mugeene village, Chugu sub location in Kithoka Location, Imenti North District. She had gone missing from Sunday 22nd March and her parents reported her missing at the nearest Administration Police who started her search. She was found on 25th March by her sister at the perpetrator’s place. The poor girl had been locked up for the three days without food. She had been defiled many times and she was in a very bad condition. Her clothes were so much bloody and they had a very strong awful smell. She was rescued by her sister, her mother, Administration Police, IPI founder and RI Program Director. The case was then reported at Meru police station and the girl was taken to Meru General Hospital for treatment. The perpetrator is in police custody. The girl is doing well at the centre and happy to have found a refuge and a place to heal.

 

Networking

We have continued to enjoy good networking with various institutions sand organizations. The police departments, District children’s office, Meru General Hospital, International Peace Initiatives (IPI), and SPARK among others have greatly supported our activities in various ways. We have received referrals from various districts as far Nairobi, Kiambu, Marsabit and others.
We conducted a partnership visit on 9th March to 12th March 2009 and the following institutions were visited. They include;
• Kenyatta National Hospital‘s Gender Violence Recovery Centre
• Nairobi Women’s Hospital‘s Gender Violence Recovery Centre
• CRADLE –an organization offering legal support to sexual abuse cases.
The named institutions were glad of our visit and we look forward to having a good networking relationship with them especially of cases referred to us from Nair obi and its environs.

 Special Sponsorship

Four girls have benefited from Ripples International Special Sponsorship Program and they have been enrolled in boarding school. The girls are doing well at school and utilizing the God sent opportunity to achieve their dreams. Two girls will also be joining boarding school next tern in May 2009. The necessary preparations are underway and we trust God to see them in school soon. The girls who are in boarding school are; Mercy, Stella, Elizabeth and Janet. Mwendwa will be joining school next term. The other girl is a mentally challenged girl who has been sexually abused on two different occasions from Nairobi. Below is her case history.

Vicky is a sixteen year old girl in class seven at Riruta HGM School special Units. She is the first born in a family of four. Vicky’s parents separated over two years ago and her mother has been taking care of her children single handedly. She is a house help at Yaya Center and her employer houses her and her children in the servant quarters after Vicky’s defilement.

Vicky has been vulnerable to sexual abuse due to her mental challenge .She has been defiled on two different occasions in April 2007 and last year when they were living in Kagwangware. Her mother has worked very hard to have justice done. The first perpetrator was arrested, taken to court and he was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. The second perpetrator was not able to be identified.

Vicky was born on 16th September 1992 as a healthy and a normal child. She was later diagnosed with a mild/ moderate brain damage after an illness. Due to her mental condition, it took her quite a long time for her to enroll in school. In 2000, she enrolled to a regular school. It was much challenging for her due to her mental disability and the age difference. Her performance was highly affected and the teachers raised a urgent call to have her enrolled in a special school. In 2007 she enrolled at Riruta HGM School Special Unit where she still is a student.

Her teachers have recommended that she enrolls in a vocational school .This arose due to the fact that her current school does not have facilities to offer such training and the school does not accommodate children over 16 years. Vicky is much interested in going to school. She is doing well at home and very much appreciative of her mother’s hard work and love.

After Care
There are about thirty girls in the aftercare program .The girls come every third Saturday of the month. Various activities take place on this day. They include;
• Group session which tackle topics on life skills
• Meeting with the guardians to discuss issues affecting the girls
• Flow up on each girl’s progress
The next after care session will be held on 18th April 2009. We are organizing to have a training of the guardians on children’s rights and various forms of abuse.